> Project Background

The pipeline link from Bendigo to Castlemaine will be the backbone for the 56 kilometre piped system to supply rural customers in the Harcourt area.

> Water Storage history

Towns in the Coliban Southern supply system receive water from our catchment storages near Malmsbury. These three storages (Upper Coliban, Lauriston and Malmsbury) supply water through the Coliban main channel to the McCay holding basin in Castlemaine. During a general rural allocation season, water is supplied to customers through the rural network in Harcourt.

In the past 15 years, inflows to these storages have dropped by 50% from an average of 62 gigalitres per year to 31.2 gigalitres. Inflows in the last five years have declined further to an average of only 10.7 gigalitres, or just 17% of the long term average - the lowest in recorded history.

To view the latest reservoir levels > click here.

Pictured above: This diagram illustrates total Coliban storage volume, including holding basins and our 18% share of Lake Eppalock. Since late 2000, these storages have contined to decline. At 15 December 2009, these storages were holding 35,685 megalitres. The lowest these storages have reached was 8,850 megalitres in early June 2007.

>Timing

Project Stages

Every project is different, but typically the investigations approvals and design phases are often more complex than the construction phase. The Castlemaine Link and Harcourt Modernisation Project is no exception.

To simplify the project process, we have broken it down into five phases:

• Investigation
• Approvals
• Design - preliminary adn detailed
• Construction
• Commissioning

Engagement with stakeholders, including the community, landholders, councils, government departments and catchment management authorities is undertaken throughout each phase.

All projects must comply with a variety of local, State and/or Federal Government rules and requirements.

So, while the construction phase of a project is the most visible, it is the planning investigations and approvals phases that are most often the longest parts.

Harcourt Modernisation Project

Construction for the Rural Modernisation Project is likely to commence in the second half of 2010 depending on investigation and preliminary planning phases. Construction will take about six months.

Castlemaine Link

When the investigations began in August we had a very tight time frame in which to deliver the Castlemaine Link project to provide water security for Castlemaine, Kyneton and surrounding towns.

We have had sufficient winter inflows into our catchment storages near Malmsbury to extend our time frame.

We will complete the project investigation work and then a Business Case for the project to determine next steps.

> Flexibility for supply options

The backbone pipeline will be able to move water from Bendigo to Castlemaine via Harcourt or in the other direction depending on where the water is needed.

This means that if our catchment storages return to high volumes we can move water to Castlemaine or Bendigo using this pipeline instead of our current open channel system.

Our aim is to keep at least two years of water in reserve for urban supply to meet essential human needs. If we have high volumes of water in our storages in the future, our preference will be to use water from our catchment reservoirs.

For further details regarding investigations timeframes > click here

Return to Castlemaine Link and Harcourt Modernisation Project Home Page > click here